Senior Reporter
derek.achong@guardian.co.tt
A police officer has sued the State, alleging that he was maliciously prosecuted for driving a police vehicle dangerously leading to a car accident in 2018.
Last week, acting Sgt Roger Baksh filed the case through his lawyer Peter Taylor.
Baksh, 46, joined the T&T Police Service (TTPS) in 2000 and three years later he was assigned to the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF).
On October 20, 2018, Baksh and three colleagues were on mobile patrol in Beetham Gardens.
The officers noticed a heavily tinted vehicle speed off after seeing them.
Baksh, who was driving the police vehicle, gave chase as the car crossed the Priority Bus Route (PBR) at Pashley Street in Laventille.
A car using the PBR illegally crashed into the police vehicle.
Baksh provided a report on the accident and filled out a government vehicle insurance form.
He claimed that while he believed that the accident would be covered by the insurance, several officers senior to him enquired whether he was going to pay for the damage.
Baksh was eventually charged for dangerous driving under the Motor Vehicle and Road Traffic Act.
He was transferred by a Senior Superintendent to the Duncan Street Police Post in Port-of-Spain where he was placed under the supervision of a Sergeant, who he (Baksh) claimed was related to the senior officer.
Baksh claimed that he was victimised by the officer, who attempted to micro-manage the tasks he was assigned.
In 2020, Baksh was transferred to another police post before being sent to the North Central Division.
Baksh claimed that he suffered distress after being removed from the elite unit where he spent most of his career and decided to utilise all of his accumulated leave.
“The sporadic and haphazard transfer of the Claimant began to take a toll on his mental health since it became clear to him that he was being unfairly targeted and victimised,” Taylor said.
In April 2023, Magistrate Rehana Ali dismissed the charge against Baksh based on the procedure used to prosecute him.
Ali suggested that he should have been issued a fixed penalty ticket instead of being formally charged.
In his court filings, obtained by Guardian Media, Taylor pointed to evidence from Baksh’s trial, which he claimed proved that there was no reasonable or probable cause to charge him.
Taylor noted that a colleague, who was seated in the vehicle at the time of the accident, testified that Baksh turned on the siren before crossing the PBR and that the vehicle that crashed into theirs was speeding.
In his evidence, the officer, who laid the charge, detailed the steps he took to investigate the accident, including retrieving CCTV footage.
He (the officer) claimed that he laid the charge after receiving advice from a senior officer and admitted that his recommendations following the probe were not followed.
Taylor also complained that prosecutors failed to disclose the CCTV footage, which would have provided an objective account of the accident.
“The Claimant could not be said to have driven in such a manner that it would be obvious to a competent and careful driver that driving in the manner the Claimant did was dangerous,” Taylor said.
The case is expected to come up for hearing in the next few weeks.
